A few years ago I was emailed this list of the eleven things you will not learn in school. I was told that it was presented by Bill Gates at a High School commencment speech. Since then I have been informed that it was actually an an excerpt from the book “Dumbing Down our Kids” by educator Charles Sykes. Regardless of who said it, I was so impressed with it that I shared it with both Jack and Michaela. OK I have shared it with them on more than one occasion 
I now want to share the list with you, because as a parent I believe that our kids have come to expect more from the world than the world is actually willing to give. I want to make sure that my kids understand that there never has been, and never will be a substitute for hard work. I hope that you enjoy it as much as I have.
RULE 1
Life is not fair – get used to it.
RULE 2
The world won’t care about your self-esteem. The world
will expect you to accomplish something BEFORE you feel
good about yourself.
RULE 3
You will NOT make 40 thousand dollars a year right out
of high school. You won’t be a vice president with
car phone, until you earn both.
RULE 4
If you think your teacher is tough, wait till you get a
boss. He doesn’t have tenure.
RULE 5
Flipping burgers is not beneath your dignity. Your
grandparents had a different word for burger flipping
they
called it Opportunity.
RULE 6
If you mess up,it’s not your parents’ fault, so don’t
whine about your mistakes, learn from them.
RULE 7
Before you were born, your parents weren’t as boring as
they are now. They got that way from paying your bills,
cleaning your clothes and listening to you talk about
how cool you are. So before you save the rain forest
from the parasites of your parent’s generation, try
delousing the closet in your own room.
RULE 8
Your school may have done away with winners and losers,
but life has not. In some schools they have abolished
failing grades and they’ll give you as many times as
you want to get the right answer. This doesn’t bear the
slightest resemblance to ANYTHING in real life.
RULE 9
Life is not divided into semesters. You don’t get
summers off and very few employers are interested in
helping you find yourself. Do that on your own time.
RULE 10
Television is NOT real life. In real life people
actually have to leave the coffee shop and go to jobs.
RULE 11
Be nice to nerds. Chances are you’ll end up working for
one.
Contact Bill at Bill@singledadstown.com
